Called Student Awareness of Fire Education, the statewide program allows the department to make its presentations every year to public school students through sixth grade. The grant for fiscal year 2012 is $4,665.

Lisa Anderson, who coordinates the programs, said different methods are used to ingrain the safety message, depending on the ages of the children.

Firefighters give their presentations at West Street School, which this year had 301 students enrolled in pre-kindergarten to third grade, and East Meadow School, which serves 240 students in grades four through six.

Sixth-graders also get a final lesson in fire safety just before they graduate to Granby Junior-Senior High School, which is not yet part of the program. At that point the youngsters get certificates.

Among the messages the Fire Department tries to get across to children in case of a fire, said Anderson:

• Crawl low to the floor when escaping through smoke.

• Have an agreed-upon spot to meet with the family away from the burning house, such as a tree or a mailbox.

• Don’t stop to pick up any possessions along the way.

• Dial 911 or go to a neighbor’s house to dial 911.

For the younger grades, the firefighters set up a “pretend” room with a window in a frame, a door and a mattress on the floor. They then set off a real fire alarm and each child escapes from an imaginary blaze as fast as possible.

“The younger kids can’t retain too much detail,” said Anderson, who is married to Granby Police Chief Russell Anderson and coordinates the program on a volunteer basis for the town, “so we give them hands-on activities.”

Older children are better able to pick out fire hazards, said Anderson. For them, instructors use a “Hazard House” provided by the state fire marshal, complete with remote control-operated smoke.

Among the Granby firefighters who make presentations in the schools are Gary Glenn, David Inglebrook, Ed Chapdelaine and Tina Massey.

Fourth and fifth graders in Granby will get visits from the Fire Department at the end of January, said Anderson, with first, second and third graders scheduled for February and visits to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes coming up in April.